O'Brien's upcoming exit not troubling Patriots

Friday

FOXBORO — Bill O’Brien wore a cap with a Patriots logo as he prepared his players for Sunday’s AFC championship game.

FOXBORO - Bill O'Brien wore a cap with a Patriots logo as heprepared his players for Sunday's AFC championship game.

New England's offensive coordinator would like to keep wearingit for a couple of weeks - through the Super Bowl - beforeswitching to a Penn State hat in his next job as head coach of theNittany Lions.

For now, he's preparing his offense to face the dominant defenseof the Baltimore Ravens.

"We're definitely all focused on the game with Baltimore andthat's what our team is preparing for," coach Bill Belichick saidThursday. "He's done what we've asked him to do last week and thisweek and, hopefully, we'll be able to play well on Sunday."

On Jan. 8, shortly after the Denver Broncos beat the PittsburghSteelers 29-23 in overtime to advance to the divisional game inFoxboro, the Patriots announced they had hired Josh McDaniels as anoffensive assistant.

He was the Patriots' offensive coordinator from 2006-08, servedas Denver's coach in 2009 and part of 2010, and was offensivecoordinator of the St. Louis Rams this season.

"Josh has integrated very smoothly into everything that we dobecause he knows most everybody here," quarterback Tom Brady said."He knows the offense. His input is greatly appreciated, whetherit's tips for me or tips for other players. He sees some things andis very helpful. It's been good."

On Thursday, O'Brien talked with Brady and other players atpractice while members of his new staff focused on recruiting.Seven of his Penn State assistants are on the road at one time andhe makes recruiting calls himself.

National signing day is Feb. 1, four days before the SuperBowl.

"We're certainly making the best of it we possibly can,"offensive line coach Mac McWorter said Thursday in a telephoneinterview. "You certainly have to commend coach O'Brien forfinishing his obligations to New England. That says a lot about theway he does things."

On Jan. 6, Penn State announced it was hiring O'Brien to replaceJoe Paterno, who was fired Nov. 9 after child sex abuse chargeswere filed against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

O'Brien spent the next two days, the weekend of the Patriots byeweek, in Happy Valley. That Saturday, he was formally introduced ata news conference on campus. On Sunday, he received a standingovation after being introduced at a basketball game and later metwith his new players.

Then it was back to Foxborough to prepare for Denver lastSaturday night. The Patriots won 45-10, the most points they'vescored in their 20 postseason games in Belichick's 12 years ascoach.

At his introductory news conference at Penn State, O'Brien said,"There is no way that I can stand up in front of our football teamand our recruits and talk about loyalty and commitment and thenleave the Patriots in the middle of a playoff run or the start of aplayoff run. I have committed to the New England Patriots to seethem through that playoff run."

With Belichick's approach of having each player focus on his joband shut out potential distractions, O'Brien's juggling act doesn'tseem to be a problem.

"It's about our focus on our game plan," wide receiver DeionBranch said of the key to each practice. "That's the entire thingwe can be focused on (and not) what's going on outside of the gameand (losing) sight of what our plan is to go into the game."

The morning after the win over the Broncos, O'Brien was back atPenn State. He spent about nine hours there, meeting with recruitsand their families and then with his coaching staff. He also tookpart in a formal photo shoot - jackets and ties - with all hiscoaches for the university's website and publications.

O'Brien is in daily contact with his assistants by phone,primarily in the evenings. Since his hiring, he has met in personwith his staff just once.

Charlie Weis had a similar challenge when he was hired as headcoach of Notre Dame on Dec. 12, 2004, after serving as offensivecoordinator in the Patriots 35-28 win over the Cincinnati Bengalisthat afternoon. He stayed with New England through their thirdSuper Bowl championship in four years. "You had to make your mindup on how you were going to handle it," Weis, now head coach atKansas, said Thursday. "I feel that if you're making a run at theSuper Bowl, you really have an ethical responsibility to finish thejob. I really do believe that. I hope that's how it turns out forthe Patriots. I hope it turns out that way for Bill and Billy."

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